Todoist

By Jill Duffy

Procrastinators need not read this review of a competent task-management app called Todoist (free to $29 per year), as it won't revolutionize your life or your lazy habits. But for those of us who keep ourselves in check and thoroughly organized via to-do lists, Todoist should be on your radar. The proficient Web app, with a browser plug-in and mobile apps to boot, can keep your to-dos in sync across multiple devices. Todoist's best features won't seem so impressive to every organized soul, as it's the kind of app that's right for certain jobs, but not all jobs, and thus not all people. But isn't that the core of efficiency and organization: knowing the right tool for the job at hand?

Design and Features
To conquer your to-dos, Todoist lets you create projects and add tasks to them. Each task can be nested into other tasks. For example, I created a project called Home Improvement Projects, a task called Redesign Living Room, and sub-tasks for Draw floor plan, Pick color scheme, and Find new rugs. Two arrows, left and right, let you adjust how sub-tasks nest into the hierarchy at any time. You can also drag tasks around the screen to reorder them easily, as the app is built in HTML5.

The user interface looks contemporary, clean, and somewhat minimalistic. Projects reside on the left in a vertical bar, and tasks take up the majority of the screen. When a task contains sub-tasks, you can toggle an arrow to reveal or hide them.

Classic tick boxes let you check off completed items, which you can leave on screen crossed out, or archive.

Each task has a cog icon to the far right, which gives way to additional settings, such as deadlines, color-coded priority labels, as well as buttons for edit, delete, add task above, add task below, move to another project, and a few others.

Numerous Todoist plug-ins for Chrome, Firefox, and Outlook give you one-click access to your to-do list without leaving the browser or email client. I tried the one for Chrome, which installed easily and gave me quick access to all my tasks, as well as complete ability to check off items I completed, without having to return to the full Web app.

Free or Premium?
As a Web app, Todoist requires an Internet connection to work, although its mobile apps function offline, a big plus for travelers in particular. The ability to work offline is notably missing from a similar task-management app called Asana (free for up to 30 members; $300 per month for 50 members;?4 stars), so I was happy to find this alternative. What Asana does better, though, is offer support for up to 30 collaborators in a free account.

Sign up for a free Todoist account, and you'll quickly realize some of its limitations, compared with a Premium account ($29 per year). Free account holders don't have the ability to add notes to their tasks, see and filter completed tasks, or integrate the deadlines they set in Todoist with iCal.

Premium members, meanwhile, get all those features, plus a search bar to better find your tasks and "improved SSL encryption" for encrypted communication. Wait, what? I asked a company representative whether free users had any security and he answered, "In the free version, only sensitive information (such as login passwords) are sent encrypted. In the premium version all the communication is encrypted." Depending on what kind of information you write into your tasks, the lack of encryption may steer you away from using Todoist's free version; Todoist Premium may suddenly sound all the more appetizing.

To Do, or Not To Do?
The paid version of Todoist, the Premium account, appeals to organized types who need: plenty of options for how to reach their task-management tools (Web app, mobile apps, browser plug-in, Outlook plug-in), encryption, and a clean and simple user interface. Those in need of collaboration features should try Asana instead, which supports up for 30 collaborators on one free account.

More Productivity Software Reviews:
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